Wild Life:
Dispatches from a Childhood of Baboons and Button-Downs
“Resilient and resourceful, Roberts celebrates an unorthodox life in this endearing memoir.”
–Publishers Weekly
“This episodic, warm exploration of identity and culture is both wide-eyed and surprisingly wise.”
– Kirkus
Years before anyone had heard of the movie Mean Girls, it was real life for Keena Roberts. Raised by primatologist parents, she and her sister spent most of their time in a rustic island camp in a national wildlife preserve in Botswana, tracking baboons through the bush even as even as they themselves were tracked by lions, treed by buffalo, or chased by elephants. Whether she was shooting visiting snakes in the family’s laundry sink or solo-piloting a motorboat at age ten through a river full of angry hippos, Keena grew up with a sharp awareness of the intricate ways that danger and beauty coexist in the natural world and a deep love for the wild African landscape she called home.
But once a year, she and her family had to make a return trip to America, where for several months she had to hone her survival skills in a much more treacherous environment—the social hierarchy of a ritzy Philadelphia private school. She and her peers were flummoxed by one another: not only did she not understand the appeal of the latest 1990s pop songs or TV shows, she had shaggy hair, too many pocket knives, and hated wearing shoes. Dreamer, reader, and adventurer, this young woman from the bush was far more comfortable dodging real-life predators than navigating the cliques of spoiled high school lacrosse players.
In Keena’s funny, tender memoir, Wild Life, Africa bleeds into America and vice versa, each culture amplifying the other. By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Wild Life is ultimately the story of a daring but sensitive young girl desperately trying to figure out if there’s any place where she truly fits in.
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Publication: November 12, 2019 from Hachette Book Group
Untitled Work in Progress
Keena is currently writing a book about the adventures of a troop of baboons in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Told from the perspective of monkey protagonists, this daring work of fiction is based on actual events observed during Keena’s time living and working in a primate research camp. The book features a detailed look at the intricate rules of baboon societies and the dangers of daily life for the animals of Africa. Keena’s intimate knowledge of animal behavior and social structures shines in this epic tale of blood, teeth, hippos, lions, strong girls, and deep friendships.